Norfolk voters decide three races

Wednesday

May 3, 2017 at 12:39 PMMay 3, 2017 at 12:39 PM

By Heather Gillis/Hgillis@wickedlocal.com

NORFOLK —Voters headed to the polls on Tuesday, selecting candidates in the three contested on this year's ballot -- for Planning Board,King Philip Regional School Committee, and the Recreation Commission.

Town Clerk Carol Greene said 652 of the town’s registered voters, or 9.2 percent, hit the polls.

The race for the Planning Board was the busiest, with four candidates competing for two seats. Winning are incumbent John Weddleton with 421 votes, and Kevin Kalkut, with 286. Gregg Damiano pulled in 235 votes and Jermone Reinhart earned 156.

During his campaign, Weddleton said his interest lies in "helping to shape the future direction of Norfolk in any way I can."

"It is always a challenge to find a proper balance between satisfying the requests of the applicants before the board, the neighbors and the residents in general all while complying with the bylaws and regulations. No side or party usually ends up getting everything they want," he said.

Kalkut said his motivation is "continued growth and positive development of our community."

During his campaign, he pointed out that the 2017 residential tax rate "is in the top 20 percent in the Commonwealth, along with one of the lowest percentage contributions from commercial tax revenue."

"In my discussions with residents these two factors lead to some expectations in terms of development and infrastructure that have not been met," he said. "Doing our part to market our town to potential businesses, supporting the development of these new partners and strengthening our existing commercials operators will be key in addressing their concerns."

In the race for Norfolk's seat on the KP school board, Kenneth Dow won with 382 votes to Tariq Siddiqui's 215. And for Recreation Commission, Mark Edwards bested Brendan Carty, earning 459 votes to Carty's 431.

In a write-in campaign for the Board of Assessors, Carolyn Van Tine earned 29 votes, besting Deborah Robbins with 19.